


Love In a Time of War

by Hotspur



Category: Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF, Henry IV Part 1 - Shakespeare, Julius Caesar - Shakespeare, The Iliad - Homer
Genre: Blank Verse, F/M, Husbands and Wives, Implied Reincarnation, historical cycles, poem, the similarities between Hector Brutus and Hotspur are just so many
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:52:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5883487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hotspur/pseuds/Hotspur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A poem focusing on Hector of Troy, Brutus, and Hotspur. And their wives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Troy

**Author's Note:**

> A three-part poem I wrote about these three ultimately doomed heroes and their long suffering wives. Plutarch recounted a story comparing Porcia to Andromache, and many Shakespeare fans have pointed out the similarities between Portia and Lady Kate Percy. Of course, their husbands are very similar too...

It is the reign of your father and you are the prince  
Your home, Troy, has been at war with Greece for years  
It seems to go on forever and will never end.  
Your name is Hector and you are called the breaker of horses  
And you lead your countrymen against the belligerent Greeks.  
Victory or defeat rests on your broad shoulders.

She is quiet, a model wife  
And she holds your precious son in her white arms.  
You love her and you fight for her and your son.  
Ten years of war are coming to an end  
But you don't know it yet.  
She cries, telling you that you are everything to her  
And she worries, desperately, for you  
She fears your courage has turned you cruel  
But you dry her tears with tenderness  
And tell her not to worry about you.  
Weaving and seeing are the concern of a lady  
Not battles and warfare- the worries of a hero.  
You kiss her and your son goodbye  
And you leave for one last fight.  
But the concern of a lady is her husband  
Andromache only ever wanted to keep you safe  
Not just from Achilles   
But from yourself.  
Your heroic deeds made sure you would return  
But not to the bath and comfort she had for you.  
And in the end it was all for naught  
Troy dies with you.


	2. Rome

It is the reign of a man who would be your father  
And you are the child of a liberating heritage.  
Your name is Brutus, and you will be called a traitor  
All because you tried to save your country.

She is brave, not as quiet as before, but a perfect lady  
And she is from a family as staunchly republican as yours.  
She carries inside her a spark that you hope will have her fire  
This lady knows you better than you know yourself.  
Despite your love you push her away when she asks  
The truth is you are becoming more a brute every day.  
You will soon be a killer.  
She shows you the red against the white of her thigh  
Proof you can trust her- and you do.  
She cries because soon you must leave  
Driven away by what you have done.   
She is reminded of when you- or someone like you  
Did that so many years ago in another war.   
You dry her tears and let her worry for you  
She is a woman, and you belong to her.  
When you are far away, trying to be the hero you thought you had to be  
She breaks- she was once your strength  
And you lament you were not there when the fire went out.  
Your dear Porcia is no longer there were you to return  
And the war is lost as well.  
Maybe if you had listened to her  
Things would have gone better.  
You couldn't have won anyway.


	3. England

It is the reign of an usurper, one your father fought for  
And the crown of this rainy, miserable land is everything  
-Unfortunately it will go to a loser.  
You are Harry Percy, named Hotspur- and you deserve it.

She is loud and stormy and more than a match for you  
The two of you fight, but the fights are as beautiful as she.  
When you are about to leave she demands to know  
Why you're leaving her.  
You've been drawn in by your own spirit  
Your unobliging personality  
And your eagerness for a fight.  
You are a soldier and she is your wife  
And that is all you trust her for- but she will fight too.  
But there are times before the battle that you cool down  
And rest your head in her lap,  
Warmth for a man with a short fuse.  
You leave for the battle against the man that was once your king  
But will not return to the woman who will always be your lady.  
Kate always said you were a big, dumb brute-  
But at least you were hers  
Really, who else would think they could stand against the king?


End file.
